Construction crews this week began clearing trees surrounding the Northern State Parkway bridge over Route 110 in Melville as a part of a $56 million project to replace the aging overpass.
New York State Department of Transportation officials said the exit and entrance ramps will be reconfigured to improve traffic flow. The work complements the nearly complete project to replace the Route 110 bridge over the Long Island Expressway one mile south. Sidewalks and drainage will also be improved.
“Those who live in, work in, and visit one of Long Island’s largest and most vital business districts will soon have what they want, need, and deserve–a safer Route 110 and Northern Parkway Interchange that meets twenty-first century traffic needs,” Commissioner Joan McDonald said.
More than 120,000 vehicles pass through the interchange daily, according to the DOT. Lawmakers said the project will help the local economy, of which the Route 110 corridor plays a central role.
Construction will improve vertical clearance for trucks and accommodate three full travel lanes and shoulders in each direction on Route 110 with the goal of relieved traffic congestion in the area. Work requiring lane closures will be performed at night to minimize traffic delays.
Granite from the existing bridge, which has outlived its usefulness, will be reused in the new structure. Plainview-based Grace Industries, the contractor performing the work, is expected to be complete the job by no later than the winter of 2014.
There will also be new pedestrian signals with countdown timers, crosswalks, a continuous shoulder lane for bicyclists, new plantings and bus turnouts when the work is completed, the DOT said.
“These long-needed improvements along Route 110 will greatly benefit the growth of an area that already has been called Long Island’s downtown, making it easier for people to get to and from Melville and to move around during the course of a day,” Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone said.